Wednesday 23 December 2009

Things have been going very well....

Just a random update on how the Meditation has been going. It's been a few months now and I can honestly say this has been of amazing benefit to me.

My patience has increased so much, before I just used to label myself as just incredibly inpatient at times. Now I feel able to take time to think (even if it's a split second) and do things in the correct way.  No more times when I feel frustrated at tasks that seemed to be 'in my way', or feeling like things are against me if they don't go right.

I feel like there's so much more of me that is filled with contentment and peace that it's kind of pushed out some traits that I didn't like so much.

The Meditation has taught me that it's OK to sometimes get pulled towards thoughts that are unuseful, as long as I'm aware of it and can bring myself back in to focus. Thereby realising that those thoughts aren't shaping my mood and personality, spending more of my time concentrating on what I'm doing and freeing the brain up to do what it does best - working things out it's own way without distraction.

Sunday 13 December 2009

Concentration Exercises

Thought I'd look in to concentration exercises over the last few days so have been doing things like counting back from 100, subtracting 3 each time. I think these exercises can be of good value but I think I've been doing them at the wrong times - like out walking the dog or driving for example.

To be effective I think it's best to do those kind of exercises where you have little distraction and can close your eyes and really concentrate on what you're doing.

I'm going to keep doing the mindfulness exercises discussed previously which will keep my awareness in the present moment.

Friday 27 November 2009

Old People got me thinking......

I was thinking about how old people often seem bitter and resentful towards the world, could this be because their brains have got used to most things in life and so they're kind of running on autopilot? Perhaps this just allows their thoughts to dwell on things that are damaging to their perception on life.

You often hear that people are 'stuck in their ways', which would indicate that the brain is comfortable just doing things automatically. Without having to learn from the experiences we have, maybe it leaves too much time (brain capacity) for our thoughts to try and occupy our minds, almost out of boredom.

Mindfulness of our actions (physical and mental) perhaps helps in more ways than one; teaching focus, keeping attention in the present moment, new experiences, sensations and feelings that were just being overlooked stimulate our brains....

Monday 23 November 2009

Right Choices

I don't like to view Meditation as a spiritual journey but instead for the scientific facts and changes to the way your brain works. Following on from the Frontal Lobe post it seems more obvious that the direct benefits Meditation provides is the ability to make better choices without having to 'try' and make those choices.

Once your mind no longer feels like you're trying to do something, usually against your will, you find you make better decisions and are happy to fulfil them.

This link has more on how meditation can help with weight loss, but it can be applied to most things,
http://www.emaxhealth.com/69/1347.html

Heart Rate

I haven't been getting the best sleep lately (trying for a baby!) so it's been a little harder to focus on my morning meditation but once finished feel very good again.

Today I mixed things up a bit and started with 6mins of relaxation breathing exercises and Mantra Meditation followed by 6 mins of Mindful Breathing.

Took the dog out for our walk, did some Mindful Walking exercises and then tried something new;

Focused on breathing in for two steps and breathing out for three steps and if focus altered bring back attention to matching the steps with the breath. When we got back I continued focusing on two in-breaths and three out-breaths without really counting them but noticing the difference. Kept this going while I dried the dog, showered, dried myself, did some housework etc.

I was feeling incredibly relaxed and focused, once I settled down on the computer I took my heart rate just out of curiosity really and it was 48 bpm. I'm fairly fit at the moment but my typical heart rate is about 60 bpm usually, so I was quite surprised.

Friday 20 November 2009

Tired

I've always struggled to maintain a positive mood when tired, last night was a late night out playing pool plus I couldn't sleep too well. This morning I found it alittle hard to relax my mind, usually while walking the dog I could just be mindful of my walking and have a clear mind but I noticed every time I looked at something different I would forget to focus and drift in to different thoughts.

So I decided to look at one point that wasn't too far ahead, like a dustbin or bench, and without talking my eyes off I concentrated on the feeling of walking again. Once I reached that point I would then focus on the next object and do the same.

I couldn't believe how much better I felt afterwards. Such a calm mind again.

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Frontal Lobe and meditation

I was thinking how there's been a few times I've thought about dropping meditation over the past few weeks but now find I have no such doubts. Everything feels a lot easier, I don't have mood swings at all. That doesn't mean I haven't been enjoying myself - but I have found I enjoy more present moments in my life, rather than thinking about when that next enjoyable moment might be (usually playing sport but it could be anything).

My thoughts have become a lot calmer and I find solutions to problems come a lot easier and without feeling I've tried so hard to think of them.

I've read quite a bit about the possible reasons behind all of this and it seems that meditation has a huge effect on the Brain's frontal lobe, http://www.crystalinks.com/medbrain.html
About the frontal lobe: The executive functions of the frontal lobes involve the ability to recognize future consequences resulting from current actions, to choose between good and bad actions, override unacceptable social responses, and determine similarities and differences between things or events. Therefore, it is involved in higher mental functions.
 Apparently the biggest changes to the frontal lobe comes about after 8 weeks of meditation exercises. After this, continual practise will further enhance frontal lobe development. But it's this first 8 weeks where the biggest changes take effect. So it's no-wonder that there will be occasions when you feel you're getting somewhere nice and quick, just to feel a few days later that you're taking a step back. Towards the end of this initial period (could take longer or less for some) your Brain has a much greater defence towards going back to old habits.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Over the weekend we had both my Wife's and my car brake-down. Looking back on it, I feel I managed the situations much more calmly and without the experiences changing how I felt afterwards (i.e. perhaps thinking about the costs, and generally letting it effect my mood for the rest of the day).

I've been continuing with the meditation at least 10mins in the morning and in the afternoon/evenings.

I've found I can easily identify those times where my mind starts to drift off and become out of focus, then quickly and gently (without beating my self up about it) bring my attention back to the present moment.

Certain times this is harder than others though, like washing up. Today I tried doing a Mantra Meditation exercise while washing up. I'm not sure if this is the best method but I was able to complete the washing up whilst focused on the exercise and certainly felt much more focused and relaxed afterwards when I had finished.

Friday 13 November 2009

Update

Been going pretty well recently. Have been meditating around 15mins in morning and then again in evening if possible. It's sometimes hard to find a peaceful place to do it though.

Noticed certain times my mind wonders alot, like in the shower, washing up or hooving. Have been concentrating on my breathing while doing these tasks and that seems to help.

This site has given me a lot of good tips on Mindfulness Breathing Meditation, http://www.wildmind.org/mindfulness

Generally feeling very relaxed and content at the moment. Waking up in the mornings sometimes feels like I'm going back to square-one but after meditating I feel fine.

Monday 9 November 2009

Several weeks in...

I've been religiously doing walking meditation while out walking the dog and at least 10 mins of breathing meditation for several weeks.

I've noticed subtle improvements in my behaviour that seem to be having a large impact on those around me. Mindfulness training during situations where my mind would generally wonder have helped me focus better while also stopping negative and useful thoughts to change my mood for the worse. This coupled with the breathing meditation and relaxation exercises have helped me become much less anxious.

Previously I had never thought of my self as an anxious person but now realise the way my mind looked at past and future situations and distorted them was simply creating anxiety where it served no purpose.

During one day I remember feeling that these exercises just weren't working as i kept thinking of a tough situation i had to deal with that day. I then realised that I was OK to feel like that but could feel comfort in the fact that I just needed to clear my mind again and relax.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Meditation Diary

This is intended to be a diary of my meditation. A few weeks ago I came across a book showing how living in the here and now can lead to practical enlightenment, i.e. not letting your mind think of unuseful thoughts and generally being mindful of the present.